LIME-TREE. LINDEN. or LING ( r 11•0111 hind, Linde, heel. lied, 011C, r. I 7 linden: probably connected with (:I:.
silver fir). A name given to trees ' the 'Min, natural order Till:it-ea% mitiv,- of Fur Pe. the north of Asia. and North .\meri• cies, which number about a (loien. r, 1..ry eiraceful. jilt 11111Mr.
heart-simped. serrated leave:. and elm.. or pani •b•s of rather small vellowisl flew, rs. eneh eyme or panicle aeeompanied with a lire. oblong. Yel lowish, membranous bract with nett«1 veins. the flower part of which adheres to the flower-stalk. The wood is light and soft, tough, durable, and particularly suitable for carved work, and is much used by turners. The charcoal made of it is often used fur tooth-powder, for medicinal purposes, fur crayons, and for the manufacture of gunpowder. The fibrous inner hark is used for making ropes, mats, and other plaited work. It is also used as a healing application to wounds and sores, being very mucilaginous, and abound ing in a bland sap. The leaves and in early spring the twigs are in some countries used as food for cattle, but cows fed on them produce bad butter. The flowers have an agreeable odor, and abound in nectar much sought after by bees. The celebrated nectar, much valued for medicinal use and for making liqueurs, is the product of great lime forests near Kovno, in Lithuania. The seeds abound in a fixed sweet oil. The Euro pean Hine or linden (Tilia cordata) often at tain a large size, particularly in rich alluvial soils. Some botanists distinguish a small-leaved
kind (Tilia parrifolia) and a large-leaved (Tilia rabra) as different species; others regard them as mere varieties. The hooded or capuchin lime is an interesting mountainous variety. The lime tree is often planted for shade in towns; and the principal street of Berlin, is called Unto. den Linden, from the rows of lime-trees which line it. The lime (Tilia rricana), common ly called whitewood or basswood in America, has larger leaves than the European species. It abounds from New Brunswick to Virginia, and in the elevated parts of Alabama and Georgia, westward to Alinnesota and Texas. it reaehes a Height of SO feet or more and 4 feet in diameter. The wood is fine. close-grained and soft, easily worked, and is extensively used for furniture, car riage-boxes, turning, etc. The tree is consid ered especially valuable for street planting, as it is hardy, resists drought. and is less liable to injury than many others. A similar species is the downy basswood (Tilia plat yphyllos), which occurs from New York to Florida and westward through Indiana and Illinois to Texas. It is similar to the above in its properties and char acteristics. The species of basswood have been tried for paper-pulp, but the quality furnished was considered inferior to that obtained from spruce.